What is Hinduism?

As the third largest of all the worlds religions, Hinduism has almost 1 billion followers. It is thought that around 90% of all the followers of the Hindu faith live in India. Hindus have no single God – conversely, followers of Hinduism may worship different gods and follow their own philosophies. Although both Islam and Christianity have larger followings with Hinduism, it has been around much longer than either of the other two religions.

Karma
Karma is considered to be the ‘foundation of life’. Karma can determine a person’s future based on their present and past thoughts and actions. It is therefore an action, word and deed-based philosophy rather than a faith based one. Bringing bad karma into one’s life can lead to negative consequences, however, drawing good karma into ones life can bring positive rewards.

The Circle of Life
Hindu’s also believe in the circle of life, birth, death and reincarnation. Reincarnation is not necessarily human to human; a person can be reincarnated into any living animal. Most of the followers of Hinduism are vegetarians for that reason, they believe the souls of the animals are also the results of their karma. A Gandhi once said ‘I am a Hindu because it is Hinduism which makes the world worth living. I am a Hindu hence I love not only human beings, but all living beings’.

Hindu Gods
Hinduism has many gods, some followers believe in just one god, some worship one god but believe in many and some followers believe in and worship many gods. It is thought that many followers believe in a three-god divinity known as Brahman. The three gods are Brahma who is the creator god, Vishnu who is the preserver god and Shiva who is the destroyer god.